What’s New?

• Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones
• James (Jim) Smith has been named Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. Mr. Smith has been serving as the Director of Finance since 1997 and will continue to oversee financial operations.
• Griffin High School principal Keith Simmons
• Spanish is now offered in our middle schools.
• High School Physical Science and Math I will be offered in the middle schools starting fall 2011.

Who are our students? 

• 10,653 –FTE number of K-12 students at 18 schools
• 1678 employees – largest employer in Spalding County
  o 922 Teachers 
• 10.7% of students have disabilities
• 69.5% economically disadvantaged – up from 63.8% in 2007-2008 – compared with Georgia at 53%
  (students eligible for free and reduced price lunch)

We are accredited with quality:

• In October 2009, the school system was “Accredited with Quality” by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. The school system met all Georgia Accrediting Commission standards, surpassing the requirements to be accredited.
• The Griffin-Spalding County School System has earned the distinction of Quality School System through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS-CASI)
• The Board of Education has met the qualifications to be a Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) Standards Board. 

We are achieving:

• The class of 2011 college-bound seniors received over $4 million in scholarships from local organizations and higher education institutions.
• Seven schools named 2010 Title I Distinguished Schools bringing in over $29,000 in awards. Schools are: Anne Street Elementary, Atkinson Elementary, Carver Road Middle, Jackson Road Elementary, Jordan Hill Elementary, Kennedy Road Middle, Moore Elementary, Orrs Elementary, and Rehoboth Road Middle.
• Our 116 students in the English to Speakers of Other Languages program exceeded state target goals
  • 73% of our English Language Learners showed progress in learning English – 25% above the state target.
  • 15% of our ELL students attained proficiency in English – 9.5% above the state target.
• Futral Road Elementary School became the system's first National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2008.

We are addressing specific at-risk groups:

• A. Z. Kelsey Academy gives personalized and self-paced instruction to high school students.
• The Taylor Street Achievement Center focuses on students who have had disciplinary trouble allowing them to continue their schooling in a more structured environment.
• Both Griffin High School and Spalding High School have a 9th Grade Academy which allow students to adjust to high school without “getting lost in the shuffle”.
• Credit recovery – allows students missing a class credit to study the parts of the curriculum they found most challenging to recover that credit
• Guided Reading – matching students to the appropriate reading levels so that students are appropriately challenged academically, and not frustrated because of a disparity between their reading level and the text
• Virtual High School allows for students to obtain a class not offered in our schools (Example, a student moves to Griffin and needs French 2 in order to graduate. While not taught at GSCS, the class can be obtained.)

We have community support (School SPLOST):
By nearly 82%, Spalding County voters approved the third school special-purpose, local-option sales tax in 2007 to build a new middle school and renovate and expand current facilities.

• Rehoboth Road Middle School Now Open
• Spalding High School Classroom Addition Now Open
• Cowan Road Elementary being renovated – began summer 2009 and almost completed
• Jordan Hill Elementary is currently under renovation
• Memorial Stadium improvements, which include additional parking & an improved sound system
• Modifications to be made to the Taylor Street property to meet future educational needs and opportunities
• Griffin High School will be renovated starting in 2010-2011

The 4-year high school competition/graduation rate has continued to rise:
56% - 2004-2005
55% - 2005-2006
55% - 2006-2007
64.3% - 2007-2006
68.3% - 2008-2009 
68.6% - 2009-2010
74.1% - 2010-2011

Our finances are well managed:

• The school system received the 2010 Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the Government Finance Officers Association.
• For the fifth consecutive year, the school system received the Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials.
• $8,388 spent per FTE (pupil) (FY10)

Annual Operating Budget 
FY10: Annual Operating Budget $80,611,660 – down $4 million from previous year

Revenue by source: 
Federal: 3.8%
State of Georgia: 61.98%
Local: Property ad valorem taxes - 32.58%
Other local sources - 1.39%

• State of Georgia legal limit on school ad valorem tax rate - 20.00 mills
  o (A mill of tax equals $1 per $1,000 of taxable value)
  Current ad valorem tax rate for school operations - 19.06 mills
  o ($19.06 per $1,000 of taxable property value)

The school system has received major grants:

• Griffin High School was awarded a state school improvement grant worth $4.5 million over the next three years.
• The Instructional Technology Division of the Georgia Department of Education has awarded both Beaverbrook Elementary School and Jackson Road Elementary School federal grants worth just over $93,000 each for increasing student reading, writing, and digital literacy.
• Cowan Road Elementary School received the Healthy Schools Program Bronze National Recognition Award for improving the learning and working environments of their students and staff by making significant changes in the areas of healthy eating, physical activity, and staff wellness.