District approves bus service for some Bluffton Middle School students

By KATE CERVE
kcerve@beaufortgazette.com
843-706-8177

Published Tuesday, November 17, 2009

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In other action, the board:

• Delayed its annual performance evaluation of superintendent Valerie Truesdale. The board likely will evaluate her next week in a special meeting, chairman Fred Washington Jr. said.

The board scheduled a two-hour closed session before the public portion of Tuesday's meeting to evaluate Truesdale and discuss other personnel and contractual matters. The other matters took more time than anticipated and the board did not discuss Truesdale's performance, Washington said.

• Hired Dereck Rhoads, now principal at a school in Mexico, as principal of Bluffton Middle School.

Rhoads began his career teaching math and science in Arizona, according to a news release from the school district. In 2005, he began his current position as principal of the American School in Monterrey, Mexico.

Rhoads will begin his job in Beaufort County this spring.

• Heard a report on new construction, including the two early learning centers opening next month in Bluffton.

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the centers on the Bluffton and M.C. Riley elementary schools campuses will be Dec. 7.

Each center cost about $10.1 million and will have 300-student capacities, said Chris Poe, the district's construction officer.

The Beaufort County Board of Education voted Tuesday to provide bus transportation for students who live within 1.5 miles of the future Bluffton Middle School, opening next fall.

The district generally does not provide busing for students who live that close to school, but the lack of sidewalks in the area make it unsafe for them to walk, according to a report presented to the board by district administrators.

In September, the board discussed a plan to build 3,500-feet of sidewalks near the school along Buck Island and Simmonsville roads that would extend beyond the district's property.

The project would cost about $130,000, said Phyllis White, the district's chief operational services officer. The district would also need to hire three crossing guards at an estimated cost of $25,000 each, White said.

The board asked the town of Bluffton to help cover the cost of the sidewalks, which are listed as a priority in the town's capital improvement program for the neighborhood. White said the district is still negotiating with the town.

Without a contribution from the town, the district would not be able to afford the sidewalks, according to the report. Providing busing for students who live within 1.5 miles of the school would cost the district up to $50,000 a year, White said.

District approves bus service for some Bluffton Middle School students

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In other action, the board:

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