City School Retirees Honored for Combined 297 Years of Service
In a special meeting of the Vidalia Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Garrett Wilcox referred to former Superintendent Dr. Tim Smith’s use of the word bittersweet about this annual meeting that honors retirees from the school system.
“There’s a lot of experience that we’re here to recognize tonight.” Wilcox said, “April Clark, Administrative Assistant, takes a lot of pride in calculating the years served. What we have is 297 years of service.” These are total years in education, not just within Vidalia City Schools (VCS). From his nine years in his current position, Wilcox tells new superintendents that they are not really important. “What’s important is these folks in the school building every day with the kids” from the bus drivers, to the cafeteria workers, and to the last person the students see at school each day. All of the retiring personnel were described as being faithful to their duties and going over and above those duties to serve the school children. School principals John Sharpe for Vidalia High School, Dr. Sandy Reid of J.R. Tripp Middle School (JRTMS), and Brenda McLain of JD Dickerson Elementary School ( JDDES) spoke about the personnel who are retiring this year and thanked them for the unique contributions each have made to the students.
VHS Principal John Sharpe told the retirees, “We cannot replace people like you, we can only train some to fill your shoes.” The three retirees from VHS have over 100 years in education, have touched many lives, and are loyal to Vidalia. These retirees, with their total years as educators are: Jan Barfield, Spanish, 46 years; Phyllis James, Media Specialist, 41 years; and Chris Carroll, Guidance Counselor, 31 years. Dr. Sandy Reid, Principal of JRTMS, highlighted the ways Tracey Lovelace, 8th grade Georgia Studies, has diligently spent her career, with all her 29 years with VCS. Juanita Monroe, Nutrition Manager at JRTMS, honored her lunchroom worker, Wanda Nanney, who has served “as the Mother of the Kitchen” for 12 years. Principal at JD Dickerson Elementary School, Brenda McLain, introduced four of her staff members who are completing their service at JDD, saying that each person filled needs that always helped the whole staff. Retiring from JDDES are: Sarah Montford, Media Specialist, 35 years; Lori Harn, Kindergarten, 32 years; Harriett Smiley, Paraprofessional, 20 years; and Lexs Wright, Computer Lab,18 years.
Transportation Director Robert Taylor couldn’t ask for a better bus driver than Gene Fountain, who has greeted students riding his bus each day for 10 years. Norma Craft, Chief Financial Officer, recruited her accounting specialist from another board office. Sandy Seidling has 23 years of service at VCS to her credit, often not being noticed because she did her job correctly. Craft said Seidling “has been a valuable part of this school system in establishing a good fiscal reputation in this community.”
Board Chairman Tim Truxel spoke on behalf of the Board. “It’s incredible each year, seeing in this meeting, the length of service we have in our system. We’re very thankful for your service. I congratulate you for entering this chapter of your life. I thank you for the impressions you have left on our children.”
In other board business, parent Amy Maddox addressed the Board about the 2021 VHS graduation. It is Board policy that after a five-minute limit of a public comment, board members do not verbally respond. A written response is sent within a week.
Maddox’s concern, as representative of other parents with the same issue, is the limited number of tickets allowed for each graduate’s family. Also, Maddox asked why students will not be allowed to congregate on the field to celebrate and take pictures with friends, referring to rumors about the reasons.
Dr. Wilcox did briefly clarify that students will be allowed to celebrate on the field. Truxel thanked Maddox for voicing her opinion and repeated that there will be a written response sent.
A request for a proposal for upgrading school system network technology infrastructure has resulted in awarding the bid to MTC, Inc. This project will be paid solely by CARES 2 funding. Wilcox thanked Technology Director Sabrina Wiggs for preparing the RFP. The FY22 proposed budget will be presented at two public meetings before being approved. These meetings are tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 7, at noon, and Tuesday, June 8, at the regular monthly work session, at 4 p.m. Ginger Morris, Assistant Superintendent, reviewed some of the successes during the first year of the L4GA K-12 Literacy Initiative: K-12 classroom library collections increased, strong evidence based remediation programs are used, technology infrastructure is being upgraded, data and training for Pre-K teachers support next literacy steps for kindergarteners, and professional training is providing tools for teachers. The school system is building sustainability to continue literacy progress after the L4GA grant runs its course in five years.
TCREA AWARDS SCHOLARSHIP — Toombs County Retired Educators Association awarded the Jean P. Brogdon Memorial Scholarship to James Poppell (R), a senior at Toombs County High School. The scholarship was given in memory of Jean Brogdon, who was a beloved English teacher in the Toombs County School System for 30 years. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a student who wishes to go into the field of education. Awarding the scholarship to James was Laura Toole (L), the daughter of the late Jean Brogdon.
