A LABAMA L EDGER
APRIL 2023
PAGE 4 www.AlabamaLedger.com
Students Receive GED
The Albertville Board of Education recently completed its 2022 audit and the financial status increased for the 2022 fiscal year by $10.5 million. The school system reported that Katie Condit with MDA Professionals reviewed the 2022 financial audit with the board at the March 2023 meeting and reported no findings. The change in net position is reportedly from controlling expenditures and growth in capital assets. It was also reported that the total cost of ACS programs for the year was $64.13 million. After taking away a portion of these costs paid for with fees, intergovernmental aid, interest earnings and other miscellaneous sources, the net benefit for the Albertville City taxpayers was $10.5 million. The State’s program revenues provided $41.19 million. Also, the general fund revenues received during the fiscal year exceeded expenditures by $2.49 million. At the end of the current fiscal year, the fund balance for the general fund was $12.62 million. The Albertville City Board of Education is in compliance with the one- month operating reserve recommended by the State Superintendent of Education. In other business, two principals received extended contracts at a special called board meeting on March 29. Dr. Miranda Battles and Dr. Robert Sims both received extended contracts through 2026. Dr. Battles is the principal at Albertville Primary School. Currently, Dr. Sims is the principal at Albertville Intermediate, but will be transferring into a new role as principal of the English Language programs and alternative education platforms for students across multiple grade levels. In his new role, Dr. Sims will also work to strengthen partnerships with Snead State, Gadsden State and Northeast Community Colleges. “When you think of alternative programs, even dual enrollment is an alternative program. With our career tech center, we’re looking to enhance our partnerships with these colleges and really needed someone to be boots on the ground,” said Superintendent Dr. Boyd K. English. Dr. English recognized Special Education Coordinator Tara Wilson, who has served as the system’s hearing officer for the last year in addition to her regular duties. At the regular monthly board meeting on March 14, the board approved the following: the meeting minutes from the Feb. 21 and 27; updated fundraising revenue for March; the listing of inventory to be recycled and deleted; the job description for an assistant superintendent; 2022- 2023 salary schedule revision; and various personnel items. Heather English is resigning as a career prep teacher at AHS, effective June 1, 2023. Mary Mulkey is resigning as a TEAMS math teacher at AHS, effective May 31, 2023. Kristy Kirby is retiring as a special education teacher at AHS, effective June 1, 2023. James Greggory Lee is retiring as a history teacher at AHS, effective June 1, 2023. Jeffrey Simmons is retiring as a government/economics Teacher at AHS, effective June 1, 2023. Beth Todd is retiring as business education/marketing Coordinator at AHS, effective July 1, 2023. Pamela Minor is retiring as an elementary teacher at AIS, effective June 1, 2023. Stephanie Pankey is retiring as an elementary teacher at AES, effective June 1, 2023. Justin Hyman resigned as the assistant band director at AHS, effective March 13, 2023. Karina Harris resigned as an elementary teacher at AES and from the leadership team at AES, effective March 24, 2023. Alicia Pankey is retiring as a bus aide at ACS, effective June 1, 2023. Taylor Chastain resigned as head cheerleading coach at AHS, effective March 1, 2023. Heather English, is resigning as the assistant girls basketball coach at AHS, effective June 1, 2023. Karla Hamby was hired to replace Lisa Lewis as the 12-month bookkeeper and inventory designee at AIS Kendi Alverson, was hired as a CNP worker at AHS and Kristie Miller is replacing Wendi Rice as a CNP worker. Brittanee Johnson will recieve $1500 for serving as the interim cheer coach at AHS. She is replacing Taylor Chastain, effective March 28, 2023 – May 31, 2023. Angela Turner, Martin Failla, Oran Adams were approved to drive a bus for the Spring Literacy Camp. They will be paid $93.45 per day from ESSER funds Gary Bonds and James Thompson were approved substitute bus drivers for Spring Literacy Camp. The rate to be paid $93.45 per day from ESSER funds. James Thompson was approved to be a bus aid for Spring Literacy Camp and will be paid $39.06 per day from ESSER funds. Independent Contracts were also approved for the following: (1) Luis Trevino will provide Latin music and provide education on the culture, instruments, and history behind the Mariachi uniforms. He is to be paid, and not to exceed, $475 by AES, effective April 10, 2023 – May 25, 2023; and (2) Karen Fancher will provide services as a rehearsal and performance accompanist at AMS. She is to be paid, and not to exceed, $400 by AMS choir funds, effective March 14, 2023 – May 26, 2023. The BOE approved the financials and reconciliations for February. In February, the district’s revenue totaled $5,408,787.92 and expenditures totaled $6,861,680.20. They also approved the additions added by the State to the ELA textbook lists as recommended by the ACS ELA Textbook Committee; the 2023 Student Code of Conduct and the ACS K-12 Curriculum Handbook; March fundraising requests at AHS; and an out-of-state field trip for the AHS ProStart Culinary Team to travel to Washington, D.C., April 29, 2023 – May 6, 2023, to compete in the National ProStart Student Invitational. During the special called board meeting on March 29, the board approved the retirement for Cynthia Lang, as CNP floater at ACS, effective May 31, 2023; an out of state field trip for seven FCCLA students from AHS to Denver, CO on July 1-7, 2023; and fundraising requests from FCCLA and cheerleading at AHS. Albertville BOE Completes Audit
Gadsden State Community College hosted its 2023 Adult Education Graduation for 33 students who earned their general equivalency diploma. The ceremony was held April 11 at the Oxford Performing Arts Center. “These students have overcome numerous obstacles to get to this point, and we are so very proud of how they have not only changed their own lives for the better but have changed the direction of generations to come in their family by earning their GED or High School Diploma Option,” said Dr. Matthew Burttram, director of Adult Education Services. He recognized the instructors and the staff in Adult Education Services by calling them “real-life superheroes.” “They change lives every day through the work they do, and I know these graduates can attest that they would not be here tonight without them,” he said. Since July, 63 students have earned their GED or HSDO; 152 earned National Career Readiness Certification; and 1,030 certificates were awarded for completing training in digital literacy, manufacturing skills, career pathways and other courses. The graduation ceremony included speeches from GED graduates Tracy Hutcheson, a 55-year-old graduate who dropped out of high school in the mid-1980s, and Devin Dampier, a Mississippi native who prevailed over drug addiction to earn his GED. “I survived a car accident that happened while I was driving under the influence,” Dampier said. “I had five overdoses. I was incarcerated at 23 years old. I knew I had to change my life and I knew I couldn’t do it alone. I now have a good relationship with God. I no longer have to do this life alone. I have a Savior that reminds me of that. This is a blessing.”
Additionally, Alan Smith, Dean of Workforce Development, awarded a full scholarship to Deonte Jones of Anniston who earned his GED and WorkKeys certification in six months. He now plans to enroll at Gadsden State and pursue a career in engineering. Smith also presented $1,000 scholarships to Dampier, Emma Turley of Anniston, Destiney Hickman of Weaver and Charly Williams of Gadsden. All of the GED completers are eligible for one free class at Gadsden State as well. The GED graduates include Ashley Allen, Larissa Balliet-Beckwith, Taylor Marie Baruch, Amber Benton, Amy Lynn Brooks, Julian Carr, Celia Castro, Gary Coody, Kyra Ayana Crosson, Devin Dampier, Jaylin Ezekiel, Joby Giles, Jazmine Goss, Daniel Lee Gray, Jeremy Griffin, Destiney Hickman, Tracy Hutcheson, Piper Hyde, Joshua Jackson, Deonte Jones, Jodi Jones, Heather Lancaster, Michael Ray McCullough, Vanessa McWhorter, Paul Kamea Margadonna, Guy Marler, Shelbi Nicole Phillips, Xena Rangel, Jeremy Reynolds, Kristy Rochelle Shields, Emma, Lashay Turley, Charly Grace Williams and Sierra Wilson. Dr. Kathy Murphy speaks to the graduates
Verizon Announces Network Upgrades For Customers in and around Birmingham
Verizon has recently made major upgrades to the network serving customers in Birmingham. These upgrades are part of a multi-year redesign of its network architecture to stay ahead of exponential data usage increases, upgrade the technology in the network, and to pave the way for personalized customer experiences. Network upgrades in Birmingham include deploying new cell sites to extend coverage and capacity in local communities. They also include adding more capacity on fiber optic cables to move more data through the network and adding bandwidth to the cellular network to accommodate new services like wireless internet service for homes and businesses. Approximately 84% of people in the Birmingham area are covered with 5G Ultra Wideband service, experiencing the speed and security of 5G Ultra Wideband service. In the past several months, Verizon engineers expanded coverage and capacity with new cell sites covering Grayson Valley/ Northeast Birmingham, north of Downtown Birmingham, Mulga in West Birmingham, around the Lakeshore Office, and the Hoover area. In the coming months, additional enhancements will be made to increase capacity in the Dolomite, Grayson Valley, South Adamsville and Overton East Birmingham areas to help manage the exponential increase in data usage Verizon is seeing from customers in those areas. Engineers have also improved in-building coverage in stadiums, arenas and key buildings throughout Birmingham including Protective Stadium, the Westin, the Sheraton, the BJCC Concert Hall, Legacy Arena, Crossplex and Birmingham Airport. These in-building solutions use a combination of Verizon’s C-band spectrum for great coverage and Millimeter Wave (mmWave) spectrum, its premium, high-band spectrum which allows for extremely fast speeds and massive capacity. Birmingham’s exceptional 5G coverage uses a combination of mmWave spectrum and Verizon’s recently acquired C-band spectrum. Verizon engineers are using 60 MHz of C-band spectrum to deliver 5G service to customers. By the end of the year, customers in Birmingham will be able to take advantage of even more spectrum as it becomes available for 5G Ultra Wideband. That additional bandwidth will turbo charge the service, offering significantly higher speeds, much greater capacity
to accommodate more customers and more robust services Lastly, the addition of 5G service and the many additional wireless solutions allow far more data to travel on the wireless network in Birmingham. That exponential increase in data carried into and out of the cell sites serving the community requires upgraded fiber optic cable links. Fiber optic cables are used to move data between cell sites and connect those sites to the rest of the network. Verizon has increased the capacity on the fiber connections in many cell sites in the Birmingham area so they can carry 10 times the amount of data. “Verizon is committed to delivering the most reliable network experience and meeting our customer’s connectivity needs, no matter where they are. Our reliable, secure network connects families, friends, homes and businesses in Birmingham with our secure, reliable, best- in-class 5G Ultra Wideband technology,” said Eric Lia, Vice President of Engineering and Operations for Verizon. With these and other technology advancements on Verizon’s network, customers are able to use more data in more ways. This multi-service network powers Internet- of-Things (IoT) devices that do very little networking and stay in place, smartphones with infinite opportunities to use data in a highly mobile environment. It also empowers home and business internet which provides connectivity via the wireless network for homes, offices and retail environments, and complex solutions like Augmented Reality or enterprise real-time video and data analysis that require massive computing capabilities. As 5G technology advances and is even more widely adopted by consumers the variety of solutions that will use Verizon’s network will continue to evolve as well. According to Verizon's news release, the network upgrades have led to customers having the best experience on the Verizon network. In a recent test measuring performance of major wireless carriers throughout Birmingham, Verizon said the company was unbeaten for overall network performance, as well as in categories including accessibility, reliability and performance in texts and calls. The results show great speeds for Verizon customers in Birmingham with Verizon’s peak download speeds of up to 370 Mbps and median upload speeds increasing more than 20% since last year* in the market.
At last four individuals were killed at a shooting during a birthday party. Special Agents with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) has launched an investigation At least four dead after shooting into the shooting, which occurred near the 200 Block of Broadnax Street in Dadeville, Alabama in Tallapoosa County. In the initial press As of the Alabama Ledger's press time, no additional information, or names, were available as authorities were continuing to investigate the incident. The following agencies releases about the incident, authorities reported four fatalities and 28 injuries. responded to the scene to assist with the investigation: the Dadeville Department, Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the 5th Circuit District Attorney’s Office. Police
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