Lowndes Board of Education talks purchases and reviews
Published 5:43 pm Wednesday, March 5, 2025
(L-R): Principal Mitchel Donahoo, Assistant Principals Sandy Alcidonice and Justin Purvis, team members Brynlee Herring, Katie Nichols, Ansley Rountree, Gabriel Ruzich, FFA Advisor Kristen Thomas, and Superintendent Sandra Wilcher. The Hahira Middle School FFA Chapter is recognized for winning the Veterinary Science State Championship—competing against high school teams. Gabriel Ruzich was also the third-highest-scoring individual in the state contest. Pictured
Scott Jernigan from Jostens presents Cortney Philpot, a 7th-grade math teacher at Hahira Middle School, and the 2024-2025 District Teacher of the Year, with the prestigious Teacher of the Year ring at the Lowndes Board of Education meeting.
(L-R): LeAnne McCall, Assistant Superintendent; Krista Pearson, Lowndes High School Principal; Sandra Wilcher, Superintendent. Assistant Superintendent LeAnne McCall presented Lowndes High School Principal Krista Pearson with a certificate recognizing the school as a 2025 GaDOE AP Honor School.
VALDOSTA— The Lowndes County Board of Education discussed several agenda items, including upcoming purchases, a review of the Board’s Code of Ethics, and an amendment to the custodial contract at this month’s work session.
The first item discussed was the system’s goal of purchasing five generators for the nutrition departments of schools that currently lack one. The need for the generators arose from recent weather events that caused food spoilage. Superintendent Sandra Wilcher stated that the cost of the generators is justified to prevent food waste, which has occurred multiple times in the past.
The board also discussed the ongoing effort to replace and update band instruments for the marching band program. The funding for these instruments has been set aside, and the next steps involve finalizing the procurement process.
Board members received updated copies of the Board Code of Ethics for review. Although the code is currently up to date, new board members need to review it before it is formalized at an upcoming session.
A proposed amendment to the custodial contract was also discussed. Starting June 1, the amendment would extend the contract with HS to include additional schools, such as Dewar Elementary, Hahira Elementary, and Hahira Middle School.
This change would ensure that HS is responsible for summer cleaning operations. The board previously reviewed the proposal during a retreat and was provided with supporting documentation for consideration.
No official votes were taken during this work session, as the topics were up for discussion only. Decisions on these matters will be finalized in upcoming meetings.
