By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Dual Enrollment opportunities are expanding for LeCroy Career Technical Center students.

The Chilton County Board of Education unanimously approved an agreement to offer three career tech dual-enrollment classes during a meeting on March 19.

“We have an agreement now, but it is just for core classes, history and things like that,” Ashlie Harrison of the Department of Teaching and Learning said. “This is just an agreement that will include the Career Tech classes.”

Harrison said plans for the upcoming school year were to offer welding, computer science and child development.

The computer science and child development classes will be completed online.

Students will need two years to complete the child development program, so it will only be offered to juniors next year.

Harrison said the computer science programs would be available to both juniors and seniors.

Board member Pam Price asked if the vote could be delayed so that the board could vote on all career tech programs at once.

Harrison said because of the paperwork required for dual enrollment courses the approval was needed now in order to have it completed in time for the coming school year.

Classroom space and a facilitator for the courses will be on the LCTC campus.

Facilitators will be paid out of federal funding.

“Our goal is to expose students to more computer science classes, and at the same time with the child development encourage them to go into education because right now people are not going into education,” Chilton County Schools Superintendent Jason Griffin said.

The classes will be free to the students.

“They could literally have a short certificate in child development at the end of their senior year, if they start as a junior, and be certificated to walk into one of our OSR classroom preschools and be a teacher’s assistant,” Harrison said.

Griffin said he hopes this will get students interested in pursuing complete certification to teach elementary education.

The board unanimously approved moving forward with financing 33 school buses. Griffin said the funds needed would be financed over 10 years.

Board member Chris Smith asked if the buses would be replacing current buses. Griffin said 15 to 20 of the new buses would be replacing existing ones. The buses being replaced would be declared surplus and sold.

During the financial report, Chief School Financial Officer LaVerne Williams said the school system should be at 42 percent of the year’s revenue and expenditures. Revenues were a little higher than anticipated at 46 percent and expenditures were on target at 42 percent.

Also during the meeting, the Board:

• Recognized the Isabella High School Volleyball team and juniors and seniors on the Maplesville High School football team for their accomplishments.
• Approved permission for Isabella Beta Club field trip to Six Flags, Clanton Middle School trip to Washington D.C. and a Jemison High School DECA trip.
• Approved a rodeo fundraiser for Chilton County High School.
• Approved a request from the Chilton Natural Resources Council to hold “Classroom in the Forest” for fifth grade students.
• Approved Paying a crossing guard for Jemison schools until the end of the school year. The school system will not pay for the position after that.
• Approved adding another Health Science class at LCTC, if needed based on enrollment.
• Approved a form for all schools to use for parents to agree to pay for school system computers students damage.
• Approved guidelines for hiring retired teachers for needed content areas.
• Approved Law Day. Second-grade students will visit the Chilton County Courthouse, through a partnership with Judge Bill Lewis and other leaders, to learn about the court system by serving as a jury for Goldilocks and the Three Bears.