Lawrence County school board holds monthly meeting

By Sarah Gauze

Lawrence County School District

LOUISA — Lawrence County Board of Education members held their regular meeting at the LCHS library on Monday, Aug. 15. All board members were present in person or through virtual format.

Superintendent Dr. Robbie Fletcher began by discussing an update on the efforts of the Lawrence County staff who collected supplies contributed by the community. These supplies were delivered to Letcher and Floyd counties, where many residents have suffered tremendous loss from the flooding tragedy in late July.

He also mentioned the possibility of donating other items, such as surplus books to Perry County to address their urgent needs. The needs for residents in this region are ongoing.

The Lawrence County School District held its third Lawrence County Professional Learning Conference for staff on Aug. 5. The sessions were categorized by grade levels and topics, with topics ranging in variety from technology needs, classroom procedures and teaching strategies, along with new teacher orientations. There were numerous additional session categories, and the staff were encouraged to select those, which coincide with their specific professional needs. The event received high reviews from the participating staff.

Lawrence County is proud to announce Ms. Allison Webb Brown has been selected by the Kentucky Speech Language Hearing Association to represent KY at the National American Speech Language Hearing Association Conference in New Orleans Nov. 17-19. This is a great honor for Lawrence County Schools and the state of Kentucky.

Lawrence County administrators attended the KASA Leadership Development in July to learn about networking, relationship building fundamentals, steps for encouraging students, and school safety provisions. Many of the administrators gave praise of the leadership conference. They discussed how the various topic sessions were extremely encouraging and helpful toward the possibility of bringing new ideas and procedures into Lawrence County Schools.

Lawrence County board members approved a motion to set the 2022-2023 tax rates. The tax rates were set at 57.2 cents for Real Estate rates, which was a decrease from the previous year. The Personal Property rates remained the same at 58.7 cents. The Motor Vehicle Tax rate remained the same rate of 35.0. The board did approve a motion to raise the 2022-2023 sheriff collection rate from 3% to 3.5%, however, this does not raise the tax rate on residents.

There were numerous motions/issues board members contemplated and made decisions on throughout the evening. All residents are always invited to attend the Lawrence County Board Meetings to become aware of the issues effecting our students and schools. The meetings may also be viewed virtually through the public viewing link. A copy of the most recent Lawrence County Board agendas & meetings can be found on the current Lawrence County District webpage at www.lawrence.k12.ky.us.

Andrew Mortimer