Career academy picks new director

J. Christopher Dinkins, now assistant director of a career center near Spartanburg, will lead the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence beginning July 1.

He will earn $99,636 annually and replace acting director Eddie Ogden, who has held the position since July.

Before working for two years at the R.D. Anderson Applied Technology Center in Moore, Dinkins was an administrative assistant at Mauldin Middle School in Simpsonville and taught business at Enoree Career and Technology Center in Greenville.

He will move to the Lowcountry with his wife and four children, ages 9 to 13, this summer.

"Thank you to the board for your vote of confidence, and we are all looking forward to our move to Jasper County," he said.

Dinkins has a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of South Carolina at Aiken and a master's degree in education from Jones International University.

Other finalists for the position were Beaufort High assistant principal Guy Gaither and state education administrator Donald Lawrimore.

After confirming Dinkins as director Thursday, the academy's board got mired in a lengthy discussion of the 2009-10 budget. Board members sent the budget plan back to staff to account for inflation and show how costs could differ from this school year, as well as provide more information on budget reductions.

"I have to know what the ramifications are as we play the numbers game," board member George Wilson said.

The proposed $4.2 million budget anticipates a 10-percent decrease in state money and cuts in federal money. However, staff assumed the overall budget would remain the same, thanks to an expected 37-percent increase in Jasper County's contribution to bring it in line with its fair share, as dictated by the counties' legal agreement.

The vocational academy is owned jointly by Beaufort and Jasper county school districts and serves students from both counties. By law, Beaufort County is to pay two-thirds of the school operating cost and Jasper County one-third.

During the past several years, however, Beaufort County had been paying more than its share. The proposed budget aligns the two counties' contributions with the law.