Dodge Pre-K shines as examples of excellence

By Taelor Rye
The Dodge County Board of Education commenced its August 13 meeting by recognizing its examples of excellence for this month, beginning with artists of the month from Dodge Pre-K.
Mikaela Angel, Samantha Dunlap, Sarah Sheffield and Madelynn Wiley will all have their respective pieces of artwork hang in Dodge County School Superintendent Dr. Melinda Dennis’s office for the month of August.
Dodge Pre-K was also recognized for winning the Ronald McDonald Pop Tab Contest for the sixth year in a row, supporting the Ronald McDonald House in the Macon area. The winner is chosen by dividing the weight of the donated pop tabs by the number of students. This year, over 500 pounds of pop tabs were collected by Dodge Pre-K.
A representative from Middle Georgia State University (MGSU) explained to Dennis that each campus will have its own homecoming celebration event and that the Eastman campus’s event will encompass the airshow held at the campus annually. This year, MGSU has requested the use of one school bus not for transportation of people or items but rather for “a line of demarcation. They want to park a bus to let people know where to walk,” Dennis explained. Dodge County Board of Education Transportation Director Bodie Gray said that moving the bus to and from the location on the day of the airshow would be no problem, so on Dennis’s recommendation, the board voted to approve MGSU’s request.
Concerning transportation, Dennis explained that the air lift at the bus shop, which has been in service since the bus shop was at “the old bus shop site prior to 2000,” is now out of use and that a new one is essential to transportation maintenance.
Gray and Dennis recommended purchasing the air jack from NAPA at the bid of $3,350.00 rather than the higher bid of $3,499.00 from O’Reilly.
Board member Jessie Mincey requested details about the air jack, surprised at its low price. Gray confirmed that the new one will include all necessary parts and will be just like the old air lift.
The Dodge County Board of Education has received two after-school program grants from 21st Century, one for North Dodge Elementary School and South Dodge Elementary School and one for Dodge County Middle School (DCMS) and Dodge County High School (DCHS). The elementary schools’ grant covers “an approved project period of five (5) years,” according to the grant notice, at an amount of $341,851.00. DCMS and DCHS’s five-year grant amount totals $199,280.00.
According to the grant notice, the purpose of the grant is to support “the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools. The program helps students meet state and local student standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math; offers students a broad array of enrichment activities that can complement their regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.”
The board received bus bonds for the purchase of two new buses for the upcoming school year. The amount awarded was $154,440.00, yet the cost of the two buses of which the board approved the purchases was a sum of $196,273.00. The remaining $41,833.00 will come from the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
The two buses will be purchased from Blue Bird, whose bids included $87,621.00 for a 72-passenger bus and $108,652.00 for a 90-passenger bus. Both buses will include the safety package with installed cameras and air conditioning, according to Dennis.
Competing bids came from Thomas Build Buses, Inc. and International. Thomas bid $89,831.00 and $109,355.80 for the 72- and 90-passenger buses, respectively, while International bid $88,101.00 for the 72-passenger bus.
The board also approved the purchase of six instruments for the DCMS band, as requested by DCHS band director Chris Ryles. The instruments purchased included three king baritones at a price of $5,553.60 from Draisen Music Center, two king mellophones at a price of $2,855.60 also from Draisen Music Center and one vibraphone at a price of $3,829.00 from Art’s Music Shop. The total price of the instruments to be purchased is $12,238.20.
Art’s bid $5,999.97 and $2,999.98 for the baritones and mellophones, respectively, while Draisen bid $3,999.00 for the vibraphone. Portman’s Music, which was not chosen for any set of instruments, bid $6,450.00 for the baritones, $3,360.00 for the mellophones and $4,285.00 for the vibraphone.