Lowndes County Schools: Construction advances and scores climb
Published 10:40 am Friday, March 14, 2025
[L-R] Assistant Transportation Director Austin Merriman, Transportation Director Matt Deal, Assistant Superintendent Ken Overman, Bus Driver and Spotlight Recipient Jimmy Jones, Transportation Office Manager Amanda Houston, Superintendent Sandra Wilcher. Bus Driver Jimmy Jones received the Spotlight Award for his dedication and care in transporting Lowndes County's students.
[L-R] Principal Krista Pearson, Gabriel Dahne, Eli Johnson, Siya Brahmbhatt, & Meagan Ritter, Advisor Gina Tindall, Superintendent Sandra Wilcher. The LHS Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter celebrates its first-place victories in Performance Events, Speech, and Online Testing.
[L-R] Principal Krista Pearson, STAR Teacher Taylor Payne, STAR Student Lokesh Tammisetty, Superintendent Sandra Wilcher. Lokesh Tammisetty was selected as the STAR student at Lowndes High School. Tammisetty selected Taylor Payne as his STAR teacher.
[L-R] Chris Buescher, Melanie Hasty, Jason Wisenbaker, Sandra Wilcher, Robert McGeehan, Erin Price, Fred Wetherington, Mike Davis. The Lowndes County Board of Education members were honored as part of School Board Appreciation Week.
VALDOSTA— The Lowndes County Board of Education held its regular meeting on Monday, where discussions centered on ongoing construction projects, school performance evaluations, and key budget approvals.
Jeff Hill, executive director of facilities and operations, provided an update on the district’s construction projects. The new building project at Lake Park Elementary is progressing steadily, though approximately 15,000-20,000 square feet still require steel installation. Weather delays have slowed concrete pouring, but construction continues as planned.
Meanwhile, the gymnasium and classroom wing addition at Dewar Elementary School are nearing completion. Painting in the classrooms is scheduled to begin this week. The project is ahead of schedule, and Hill is optimistic about its early completion. At Lowndes High School, the chiller replacement project is making progress. The largest chiller unit has already been delivered and is set for installation over spring break.
Additionally, updates were provided on the athletic field and track upgrades at Lowndes High. While the field is nearly complete, leveling tests for the track are still underway. Hill also addressed rising equipment costs for nutrition generators due to tariffs, though he assured the board that the total price increase remains manageable.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning LeAnne McCall presented the latest College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) report, an assessment prepared by the Georgia Department of Education. The CCRPI evaluates school performance based on test scores, student progress, and graduation rates.
According to the report, Lowndes County students continue to perform above the state average on the Georgia Milestones Assessments in English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Progress tracking showed that students are making significant growth in Math and ELA compared to academically similar schools. The report also highlighted the district’s success in closing achievement gaps, with schools meeting their improvement targets for student subgroups.
McCall noted that Lowndes County’s elementary and middle schools exceed state averages in reading proficiency and attendance. At the high school level, students have excelled in dual enrollment participation, career and technical pathway completion, and college readiness benchmarks, including SAT, ACT, and AP scores. McCall also commended the district’s graduation rate, which has exceeded 90% for the eighth consecutive year and currently stands at 92.8%.
The board also unanimously approved several items on the consent agenda, including the finance report, the Board Code of Ethics, the purchase of nutrition generators, the purchase of band instruments, and a custodial contract amendment.
