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Effingham County Schools, Georgia

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Effingham County Schools
School Board badge.png
Effingham County, Georgia
District details
Superintendent: Dr. Randy Shearouse
# of school board members: 5
Website: Link

Effingham County Schools is a school district in Georgia that serves Effingham County. It was the 32nd-largest school district in Georgia, serving 11,559 students in 14 schools during the 2013-2014 school year with an operating budget of $85.8 million.[1]

About the district

Effingham County Schools is located in Effingham County, Georgia

Effingham County Schools is located in Effingham County, Georgia. The county seat of Effingham County is Springfield. Effingham County is home to 52,250 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[2]

Demographics

Effingham County underperformed in comparison to the rest of Georgia in terms of higher education achievement and overperformed in terms of median household income in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 16.9 percent of Effingham County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 27.8 percent for Georgia as a whole. The median household income in Effingham County was $62,953 compared to $49,604 for the state of Georgia. The poverty rate in Effingham County was 10.6 percent compared to 17.4 percent for the entire state.[2]

Racial Demographics, 2013[2]
Race Effingham County (%) Georgia (%)
White 83.2 62.8
Black or African American 13.7 31.2
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3 0.5
Asian 0.9 3.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 1.8 1.8
Hispanic or Latino 3.2 9.2

Presidential Voting Pattern[3]
Year Democratic Vote (%) Republican Vote (%) Other Vote (%)
2012 23.8 75.0 1.2
2008 22.8 75.0 2.2
2004 22.3 77.3 0.4
2000 30.4 68.9 0.7

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Superintendent

The superintendent of Effingham County Schools is Dr. Randy Shearouse, who was appointed to the position in July 2005. He has also served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the district. He has both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgia Southern University and his doctorate degree in philosophy from Capella University.[4]

School board

The Effingham County Board of Education consists of five members elected by geographic district. They serve four-year terms.[5]

Effingham County Board of Education
Member District Term Ends
Charles E. Tomberlin District 1 2014
Troy K. Alford District 2 2016
F. Lamar Allen District 3 2016
Elizabeth Helmly District 4 2014
Vickie Decker District 5 2016

School board elections

See also: Effingham County Schools elections (2014)

Members of the board are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis. Two seats, Districts 1 and 4, were up for election on May 20, 2014. Three seats will be on the ballot in May 2016.

Public participation in board meetings

The board maintains the following policy regarding public participation in board meetings, which was adopted in 2008:

All official meetings of the Effingham County Board of Education shall be open to the public. However, the Board reserves the right to meet and to adjourn or to recess a meeting at any time to discuss such matters as may be properly considered in executive sessions.


It is the Board's desire for citizens of the Effingham County School District to attend its sessions so that the public may become more familiar with the operation and programs of the schools and so the Board may have more opportunity to address matters of public concern, including meeting with appropriate school level officials and the superintendent.

In order to assure that persons who wish to appear before the Board may be heard, and to assure further that the Board may conduct its meetings properly and efficiently, the following rules and procedures shall apply to public participation in Board meetings.

1. Anyone wishing to speak before the Board, in the capacity of an individual or representing a group, shall inform the Superintendent by letter, fax, or e-mail or the desire to do so as early as possible, but in no event later than 48 hours prior to the scheduled Board meeting. Such notice shall include information regarding the topic to be addressed and, where applicable, previous steps taken to resolve the matter of concern; such as meeting with the school Principal or Superintendent.

2. A majority vote of the Board is necessary to allow unscheduled participation. When such participation is allowed, the rules and procedures which follow still apply.

3. Anyone wishing to speak before the Board shall identify their name, address, and group, if any, they are representing.

4. The presentation of anyone wishing to speak before the Board should be as brief as possible, and unless an extension of time is granted, the presentation shall be limited to ten minutes.

5. Speakers may offer such objective criticisms of school operations and programs as concerns them. However, in public session, the Board will not hear personal complaints of school personnel or complaints against any person connected with the school system. Other channels provide for Board consideration and disposition of legitimate complaints in that regard.

6. No profane or vulgar language, nor personal abuse against any person, shall be permitted.

7. The Board vests in its chairperson or other presiding officer the authority to terminate the remark of anyone who does not adhere to the rules and procedures set forth herein.

8. Members of the Board are without authority to act independently as individuals in official matters; thus, questions may be directed to Board members, but answers must be deferred pending consideration by the Board.[6]

—Effingham County Schools' website, (2008)

[7]

Budget

From 1993 to 2013, the Effingham County school district had an average of $71,544,952 in revenue and $71,101,095 in expenditures, according to the United States Census Bureau's survey of school system finances. The district had a yearly average of $17,592,476 in outstanding debt. The district retired $2,203,000 of its debt and issued $2,478,476 in new debt each year on average.[8]

Revenue

The table below separates the district's revenue into the three sources identified by the agency: local, state, and federal.

Revenue by Source
Fiscal
Year
Local State Federal Revenue Total
Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue Total % of Revenue
2010$37,971,00036.12%$53,097,00050.50%$14,069,00013.38%$105,137,000
2011$40,759,00037.22%$56,900,00051.97%$11,835,00010.81%$109,494,000
2012$40,099,00038.77%$55,018,00053.20%$8,302,0008.03%$103,419,000
2013$39,148,00038.13%$55,818,00054.37%$7,697,0007.50%$102,663,000
Avg.$24,850,57133.33%$41,588,81059.87%$5,105,5716.80%$71,544,952

Expenditures

The table below separates the district's expenditures into five categories identified by the agency:

  • Instruction: operation expenditures, state payments on behalf of the district for instruction and benefits, and retirement system transfers
  • Support Services: support services, food services, and retirement system transfers for support service staff
  • Capital Spending: capital outlay expenditures (i.e., construction, land or facilities purchases, and equipment purchases)
  • Debt & Gov. Payments: payments to state and local governments and interest on school system debt
  • Other: all other non-K-12 programs, except food services
Expenditures by Category
Fiscal
Year
Instruction Support Services Capital Spending Debt & Gov. Payments Other Budget
Total
Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget Total % of Budget
2010$63,076,00057.33%$32,293,00029.35%$13,765,00012.51%$875,0000.80%$21,0000.02%$110,030,000
2011$62,710,00063.22%$32,237,00032.50%$3,624,0003.65%$607,0000.61%$15,0000.02%$99,193,000
2012$62,205,00060.48%$33,162,00032.24%$6,978,0006.78%$454,0000.44%$55,0000.05%$102,854,000
2013$61,414,00062.02%$33,562,00033.90%$3,743,0003.78%$287,0000.29%$9,0000.01%$99,015,000
Avg.$39,929,14355.45%$21,676,23830.58%$8,589,66712.45%$861,6671.40%$44,3810.12%$71,101,095

Debt

The table below shows the amount of debt retired, issued, and outstanding in the district for each year.

Debt
Fiscal
Year
Retired Issued Outstanding
2010$3,352,000$0$21,169,000
2011$3,220,000$0$17,949,000
2012$2,750,000$0$9,110,000
2013$2,910,000$0$6,200,000
Avg.$2,203,000$2,478,476$17,592,476

Teacher salaries

Catoosa County teacher salaries are based on years of service and teacher certification. A teacher can earn higher salaries by pursuing various teaching certifications. The salary schedule also accounts for experience by providing higher starting salaries and greater potential salaries depending on years of service. The following table details the salary schedule set forth by the Georgia Department of Education:[9]

Salary structure
Years of experience Minimum salary ($) Maximum salary ($)
0-2 years 31,586 48,213
3-5 years 32,505 52,683
6-8 years 35,550 58,974
9-10 years 38,847 60,743
11-12 years 40,012 62,565
13-14 years 41,212 64,442
15-16 years 42,448 66,375
17-18 years 43,721 68,366
19-20 years 45,033 70,417
21+ years 46,384 72,530

Schools in Effingham County Schools

Enrollment

The district served 11,559 students during the 2013-2014 school year. The district experienced a 2.0 percent increase in enrollment between 2008 and 2014. The following chart details enrollment in the district between 2008 and 2014:[10]

Total enrollment
Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2008-2009 11,330 N/A
2009-2010 11,491 1.4
2010-2011 11,515 0.2
2011-2012 11,502 -0.1
2012-2013 11,422 -0.7
2013-2014 11,559 1.2

District schools

Effingham County Schools operates 14 schools listed below in alphabetical order:[11]

Effingham County Schools
School Name
Blandford Elementary School
Ebenezer Elementary School
Ebenezer Middle School
Effingham College & Career Academy
Effingham County High School
Effingham County Middle School
Guyton Elementary School
Marlow Elementary School
Rincon Elementary School
Sand Hill Elementary School
South Effingham Elementary School
South Effingham High School
South Effingham Middle School
Springfield Elementary School

Academic performance

The Georgia Department of Education administers annual tests to students in grades three through eight called the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT). These tests assess the proficiency of district students in five academic subjects including reading, English language arts (ELA), math, science and social studies. The CRCTs are designed to measure progress by students in topics covered by the Common Core State Standards. A student meets state proficiency goals with a score of 800 and exceeds state proficiency goals with a score of 850 or higher. The following tables detail the percentage of students who met or exceeded proficiency levels on the CRCTs during the 2013-2014 school year:[12][13]

CRCT Scores, Grades 3-5, 2013-2014[13]
Grade Subject District meets/exceeds standard (%)
3 Reading 96.1
3 ELA 94.8
3 Math 89.2
3 Science 89.3
3 Social Science 92.5
4 Reading 97.8
4 ELA 95.4
4 Math 94.3
4 Science 91.9
4 Social Science 93.2
5 Reading 98.3
5 ELA 97.8
5 Math 95.7
5 Science 91.3
5 Social Science 90.8

CRCT Scores, Grades 6-8, 2013-2014[13]
Grade Subject District meets/exceeds standard (%)
6 Reading 97.8
6 ELA 93.8
6 Math 92.3
6 Science 82.0
6 Social Science 86.0
7 Reading 98.1
7 ELA 96.9
7 Math 96.6
7 Science 92.9
7 Social Science 91.9
8 Reading 98.8
8 ELA 97.8
8 Math 92.1
8 Science 89.2
8 Social Science 89.9

Contact information

Effingham County Schools logo.png
Effingham County Schools
405 North Ash Street
Springfield, GA 31329
Phone: (912) 754-6491

See also

External links

References