Pickens County Superintendent of Education, Jamie Chapman, speaks to parents and students at PCHS's parent/teacher meeting on April 12.
BY GENA HUFF, Editor
In the Pickens County High School (PCHS) Auditorium on April 12, parents, teachers, citizens, and press gathered to get answers regarding the possibility of Pickens County High School closing. There was a large turnout and after the PTO quickly conducted their business, Pickens County Superintendent of Education Jaime Chapman took the floor.
“Pickens County High School has to have 250 students, or more, on October 1, 2018 or myself and the board will start having to make plans for what is next for Pickens County High School,” Chapman began. “Once you get under 250, you earn no assistant principal (salary), half a counselor, and half a librarian. When we start school in August, the number that was earned last year, from Labor Day to 20 days after, the reporting number for Pickens County High School is 221, which fell from 264 the year before.” He continued, “Basically, we’ve already earned what we are going to earn to start school next year, and it’s under 250.”
“That means the board will have to do some funding for a full assistant principal, for half a counselor, for half a librarian,” said Chapman. “That is a minimum of around $200,000. Plus, what we’re already putting into the Reform community which is two locally-paid teacher units. In our system, $200,000 is a lot of money.”
See complete story in the Pickens County Herald.
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