School board to vote on racial harassment policy, new hires

The Muscogee County School Board is scheduled to vote on a new racial harassment policy at its meeting Monday.

The meeting is at 6 p.m. in the Muscogee County Public Education Center on Macon Road.

The policy calls for zero tolerance for racial slurs.

The policy reads: “The Muscogee County Board of Education believes that all students can learn better in a safe school environment. Behavior that infringes on the well-being of students will not be tolerated. The Muscogee County School Board thereby adopts a prohibition against communication of racial slurs, either verbal or written, by all district employees in all classifications of employment.

“This zero tolerance policy is defined as review for termination of employment. This prohibition will not extend to the instructional and classroom use of historical or literary works which include racial slurs, but any teacher employing such instructional material must give prior notification to the school principal of the intent to use it and obtain acknowledgment that the material will be presented and discussed in order to establish an educational context for its use in the classroom.

“Further, the prohibition against racial slurs extends beyond the classroom to every department and job description in the district; the prohibition is a system-wide, whole workplace, all-inclusive ban of racial slurs in the Muscogee County School District regardless of job, department, or intent. Such prohibition shall be included in the Personnel Handbook for all District employees and be included in the Student Code of Conduct for all schools within the school system.”

In other business:

▪ Superintendent David Lewis is recommending Edwin Joseph from Somerset, N.J., as the new director of purchasing and supply. In the past he has been a purchasing supervisor, warehouse supervisor and utility supply supervisor. He currently serves as senior buyer/planner for Audiocodes.

▪ For director of budget, Lewis is recommending Capri Gunn Baptiste who will be coming to the school district from the United States Air Force where she has served in financial management since 2004. Her most recent position was as budget integration chief at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

▪ For director of communications, Lewis is recommending Mercedes Parham, whose latest position was as marketing and media manager for The Columbus Museum. Prior to that, she was program assistant in community and leadership development with the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

▪ For director of Georgia Project AWARE and PBIS, which deal with mental health and special education, Lewis is recommending Kenya Gilmore who is the academic dean at Double Churches Middle School.

▪ The board is expected to vote on proceeding with wrestling room additions at three high schools: Columbus, Jordan and Kendrick.

▪ The board will vote on auditorium upgrades. New seating is needed at Clubview Elementary, Hardaway High School and Kendrick High School, as well as the Patrick Theatre at the Columbus Museum.

▪ The Muscogee County Library Board is asking the school board to approve Gayle Arrington, Tamika McKenzie, LaRae Dixon Moore and Frank Star as members.

▪ The Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation will introduce teachers chosen as Harvard Fellows who will attend the Harvard Professional Development Program at Harvard University.

▪ Among groups being recognized will be the Northside High School softball team, which won the 4A state championship.

▪ Asking to speak on the public agenda is Theresa El-Amin. The topic was not given in the board agenda.

▪ Students from Wynnton Arts Academy will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

▪ The board will meet in executive session after the meeting for a student discipline appeal and a legal matter.

This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 12:28 PM with the headline "School board to vote on racial harassment policy, new hires."