Reminder that I, Superintendent Erik Weatherwax, will be at the Jonesville Middle School library tomorrow at 5:30 to answer any last minute bond questions you may have. If you are unable to make it, feel free to call me at 849-9075 with your questions.
Hope to see you there and go Comets!!!
This is a mock-up of the updates to the football field that will be done with the bond. It's not exact because there has to be more detailed planning, but it shows a possible layout that includes the new handicapped parking, multipurpose building, sidewalk, and lights.
The 0 mill bond vote is next Tuesday, November 7th. This bond will not increase your taxes and the rate will go down over time. It focuses on safety and security, updates to classroom furniture and instructional technology, and infrastructure.
Williams Elementary Angel Tree
If you are interested in adopting an individual student or family from our angel tree program, please contact Jessica Stroble at jstroble@jonesvilleschool.org.
All donations are due by December 8th. Monetary donations can also be made to the Williams Elementary Angel Tree Program.
The ATI group passed out red ribbons, at lunch today, for students to put on their cars or wrists. Red Ribbon week helps students to take a stand against drug and alcohol abuse.
Bond language explained
Support our Comet Band!
Comet community! We have a high school student, Ryder Cornett, who is in FFA whose fair project on "Analyzation of Food Waste in Our Society won at the state level. As a result, he is now a national finalist (Top 10 in the U.S.) and is competing next week at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. He needs our help to collect some more data on his project.
If you could take a quick couple of minutes and fill this out to help him out that would be great: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DRCRjG2t-L-93n1PoEKuVoyr3hR9a9cwf3G3gqkm6is/edit
Go Ryder and Comets!
Quick bond FAQ! November 7th is the vote!
Please consider supporting JABA! What could be better than supporting our student athletes by taking the evening off from cooking? It's a win-win!
The bond vote is 2 weeks from today! 0 Mill increase that focuses on safety and security, classroom updates and instructional technology, and critical repairs/renovations. Go to jonesvilleschools.org for more information!
This is the answer to the question, "Why didn't you just move the football complex to the high school along with the track?".
Here is a quick summary of the November 7th bond project. It is a 0 mill increase focusing on safety and security, classroom and instructional technology updates, and critical repairs/renovations.
The bond will not increase your taxes and they will begin going down in 2034 and continue to go down each year over the life of the bond. Visit Jonesvilleschools.org for more information!
This box along with valves and HVAC controls are what need to be replaced at Jonesville High School. When we upgraded our HVAC system a couple years ago, the problem we ran into is that the new system doesn't "talk" to the old system. It's too outdated. We had to update our software that ran both the high school and elementary because it ran on Windows '98, which is no longer supported or available so if the system went down we were out of luck. Right now, there are times that Vern has to climb up to manually move dampeners at the high school. It's another example of something that is just past its life. The committee selected this project because we need to finish updating our system and the new system can help with energy efficiency.
Jonesville Community Schools would like to thank the Randall & Nancy Guise Foundation for its generous donation. Our staff and students are appreciative of its continued support.
Here are some photos from Mrs. Martin's art class. We are very excited to be able to offer this to our middle schoolers this year! They are doing great projects!
One of the questions I frequently get about the bond is, "Why don't you use the money you have?" Here is a pie graph of our 2022/23 school budget. This breakdown is very similar to districts statewide. The vast majority of a school district's expenses go towards staff (wages, benefits, retirement, etc.). And that is as it should be. You want to put your money towards your people.
The rest of the money then has to be divided up between transportation, athletics, supplies, technology and maintenance. In the pie chart, the ESSER funds were spent on the HVAC project at Williams last year so that is not in this year’s budget. Those monies are gone. The safety and security money must go towards safety and security and is temporary. Our maintenance budget which is around 3% of our total budget goes towards utilities, grounds, maintenance and custodial supplies, water, trash, and repair/purchased services. The repair/purchased services portion is what we have to work with for major projects. In times of an emergency, we can dip into our fund balance if we need to.
So why not just keep setting money aside? The district does and has. However, any money you are saving for the future is money we can't use for the needs of today. Our facilities director (Tom) has done a great job of repairing what we can but he is limited by our budget, the size of the project, and facilities that are just past their useful life.
JHS Weekly Update: 10/16-10/22
Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BgglBqvtEL7Kq8LLlWjPzBd20kL7Yj-coJMdbBQO-K4/edit?usp=sharing
These are some photos that show the state of our bleachers at the football field. The larger hole was a result of someone’s foot going through it to no fault of their own. Another is an image of a board that prevents items from falling below the bleachers that have fallen off. The bleachers are rotting. Not due to neglect but time. We can, and have, replace(d) boards. None of the complex is ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliant. There is no, real, handicap parking at the field. There is no handicapped seating. There are no sidewalks which makes it difficult for our seniors and disabled to navigate to the bleachers. There is no locker room for our kids. They use the transportation garage and the visiting team goes back on their bus.
This 0 mill proposal provides new bleachers for both sides. The bleachers will have railing and the steps grip. The bond provides real handicapped parking. It provides sidewalks. It provides a multipurpose building that can house concessions, restrooms, storage, and locker rooms. It also provides new lighting for the stadium.
Remember, the majority of the bond is going towards school buildings in the form of safety and security, updated furniture and instructional technology, and repairs/renovations. However, our athletic complexes are also facilities. The football field is around 75 years old, possibly older. These are used by the entire community. Go to jonesvilleschools.org for more information. Go Comets!
Recent Jonesville High School graduate, Hannah Spencer, a current freshman at the University of Alabama Honors college, has earned a spot on the Crimson Tide Women’s Division I rowing team.
According to Hannah, “This has been a great experience and I’m loving the opportunity that University of Alabama has given me but also remember the support from my community back home. My years in competitive cheer helped to physically prepare me and band helped provide leadership skills that have been useful in my experience.”
Hannah, as a valedictorian for the class of 2023, understands the importance of taking her coursework seriously and has expressed how well her AP courses, as well as her economics class, at JHS have prepared her for the college workload. She is maintaining strong grades, in addition to a part-time job and working out with her team six days per week. Hannah is double majoring in Political Science and History with a minor in Russian.
There is still a lot of hard work to put in between now and spring season, and Hannah is learning about what it means to be an NCAA division 1 athlete but she’s proven that she is up for the challenge.
There is still heavy competition to earn a spot on the varsity team, and it will be an ongoing process for the next few months but with how much she is loving her coaches, her teammates, and the sport, she is excited to see where this takes her.
She will be competing in UA’s fall regatta on the Black Warrior river in Tuscaloosa on October 28.
Go Comets & Row tide
These are the boilers at Jonesville Middle School. They are over 20 years old and are nearing end of life. This is one of the projects the committee felt should be addressed. We replaced the boilers at Williams Elementary school last year and we have seen reduced usage as a result. Boilers are much more energy efficient now.
