Williamsburg schools receive 30 new laptops, 10 new Chromebooks

The Williamsburg Independent School District received 30 new laptops and 10 new Chromebooks Tuesday morning that the district received courtesy of Spectrum and Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers.

Senate President Robert Stivers and officials with Sprectrum delivered 30 new laptops and 10 new Chromebooks to Williamsburg Independent School Tuesday.

“One of the things we are going to use the laptops for is for our bio medical program. In the actual lab part of the work, they will be available to use that,” Superintendent Tim Melton told the Williamsburg Independent Board of Education during its monthly meeting Tuesday.

“The tablets we will be able to use for our students. This is just another partnership that goes along with the many.”

The board approved a memorandum of agreement Tuesday in order to receive an SESC Grant that will provide new tablet computers for the 2019-2020 school year.

Director of Technology Parker Smith said the project is a joint effort with Qualcomm and the University of Kentucky, and that the district is expected to receive enough tablet computers to provide one for every child in fifth grade to use.

Melton added that the district was able to obtain some other tablet computers through this same grant last year.

Positive Behavior Intervention Support System (PBIS) Fidelity representative Misty Head presents Special Education Director Dana Hale and her staff with two banners and stickers recognizing the hard work that the school district has done to implement positive behavior intervention.

In other business, the board:

• Announced that student parking will be located on the 10^th Street side of the building. Parking spots will be numbered, and students will be allowed to paint their parking spots, Melton said.
• Approved the 2019 real estate property tax rate and the personal property tax rate, which are both 49.80 cents per $100 of assessed value. District Finance Officer Jimmy Hall noted this is a 4 percent increase from last year when the rates were 48.6 cents per $100 of assessed value. The new tax rate should generate $32,000 in additional revenue for the district. “We have been encouraged to do that,” added board member Kim Williams about the tax rate change.

• Set the 2020 motor vehicle tax rate, which is 54 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is unchanged from last year.
• Approved applying for 25 emergency substitute teaching certificates for the 2019-2020 school year. Melton noted that as many people are aware, there is a teacher shortage in Kentucky, and this measure helps the district find substitute teachers. He added that the district applied for five more emergency substitute certificates than it did last year, noting that some of the people who were substitute teachers last year have now been hired as full-time teachers. It isn’t uncommon for college students, who are studying to become teachers, to serve as substitute teachers before they complete their degrees.

• Approved the list of new hires for the upcoming school year. “We have one more position to hire then we will be at full staff,” Melton noted.
• Increased adult meal prices from $2.25 to $2.75 for breakfast and from $3.60 to $4 for lunch.
• Approved an agreement between the school district and the Williamsburg Police Department to continue providing a school resource officer for the 2019-2020 school year.