Leeds BOE recognizes teachers for achieving national certifications

By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune

LEEDS – The Leeds Board of Education recognized three teachers for achieving the coveted certification by the National Board of Teaching Standards during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

In past meetings Superintendent John Moore has described national certification as a difficult endeavor but has called it a “gold standard” in teaching.

“I say this every year but this is the gold standard of our professionals,” he said. “I know it’s not easy. Nothing worth having is easy. I’ve figured that out at my age. But it’s a process and I’ve had teachers tell me through the years that they’ve learned a lot about themselves and their teaching.”

The recognized teachers were given plaques to commemorate their achievements. These were: April Justice, assistant principal at Leeds Elementary School; Robyn Blake, second grade teacher at Leeds Primary School; and Ariel Fountain, geometry teacher at Leeds High School.

Moore said that when he became superintendent he told the board of education at the time that he would set a goal of having 6-10% percent of the staff be nationally certified and that the three newly certified teachers have taken them closer to that.

Leeds Elementary School Principal Rachael Haley said that there around 10 or more teachers who are applying for certification.

Afterwards Chief Financial Officer Ryan Miller gave a report for the month of December 2023. 26.26% of the general fund revenues and other financing sources were received, along with 28.70% of local revenues, up 101.38% from this time in 2023.

Expenditures and other fund uses in the general fund were 25.12% of the budget, meeting a target of 25%. Accounts payable were $824,044 and ross payroll expenditures were $1,326,697.

The month was ended with an excess of revenues over expenditures in the general fund of $95,226 which is normal for this time of year. The unreserved fund balance was $5,022,969.

Trent Catron from Goodwyn Mills Cawood was present at the meeting and gave an update regarding the ongoing upgrades to the outdated boiler in the cafeteria and other rooms at the elementary school. Moore said that Catron was involved in the projects of building the primary, middle and high schools.

Catron said that a bid has recently come in at $1,570,000. The timeframe for updating the units in the classrooms will be around ten to 12 weeks, while the unit for the cafeteria will be about 25 weeks, though he hopes to decrease the amount of time for this particular project.

It is hoped that when schools begin, the classroom units will be finished in June or July and the other unit will be finished by late July or sometime in August.

Moore said that students will need to take their lunch trays and eat in classrooms while the cafeteria work is performed.  Leeds Primary School will accommodate students who signed up for literacy and summer camps during the summer and that these programs will move back to the elementary school next year.

The next meeting will be held on March 12 at 10 a.m. at the Leeds Board of Education Building located on 1517 Hurst Avenue.