SDOC Board Retreat focuses on Three Areas

The Oconee County School Board of Trustees held its annual planning session on Wednesday in the conference room at Devils Fork State Park.  Trustees studied school issues in greater detail as well as planned and prioritized goals for the upcoming school year.  The majority of discussion focused on three areas:  curriculum and instruction, operations, and human resources.  The bulk of the instruction time was spent on two topics: the latest test results and some of the inconsistencies associated with the ESEA rating system.  Time in the area of operations was mainly on future plans after the new Walhalla High opens in August 2015. Topics included the use of current facilities and properties with the goal to minimize future operational costs and to expand opportunities for high school students on the adjacent site next to the Hamilton Career Center.  The Board expressed interest in putting together plans for enhancing the facilities at Fair-Oak and Ravenel as well. The final area of discussion was human resources.  The Board of Trustees for the School District of Oconee County discussed the impact of the Affordable Care Act and the possibility of developing an alternate teacher/principal evaluation instrument that will comply with state regulations in the future; this evaluation instrument may be an alternative to the one being developed and piloted by the South Carolina Department of Education.