The Union County Board of Education paid tribute last week to School Nutrition employees Rachel Primeaux and Angie Tanner for finishing first with the delicious dishes they respectively prepared for the School Nutrition Association District 9 Culinary Competition in January.
School Nutrition Director Heather Miller announced in the Feb. 20 monthly board meeting that the Primeaux of Union County Middle School and Tanner of Union County Elementary School would be competing at the state culinary competition in March.
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In other business, Superintendent John Hill and Director of Teaching and Learning CT Hussion recognized Young Harris College with a “Partner in Education Award” in honor of the district’s longstanding, fruitful relationship with the college.
Hussion used figures to demonstrate “what this partnership means.” For the 2024-25 school year, there are 170 students enrolled in 540 credit hours at Young Harris College, which translates to over $400,000 in tuition costs through the state’s Dual Enrollment Program – for this year alone.
And YHC allows Union County teachers to qualify as professors administering college courses here, of which there are currently three who teach 300 credit hours on the local campus. This allows students to remain with their classmates and enjoy the educational culture at UCHS.
Accepting the award were new College President Dr. John Wells and Vice President for Enrollment Management and External Relations Clint Hobbs. Both men recently returned to YHC after serving in similar past capacities, and Wells said they were proud to partner with Union County Schools.
“The Dual Enrollment Program is really important, both to Union County and to Young Harris as well,” Wells said. “Young Harris wants to make sure that everyone knows that, as an institution, we are committed to being partners here in North Georgia.”
As a testament to that commitment, Wells said that students going through the Dual Enrollment Program in Union County “are going to get a special scholarship at Young Harris.”
“In fact, if you are a full Pell (Grant) student and you are a resident of Georgia, we’re going to get you as close to tuition-free as we can get you,” Wells said. “Come see us, and we will make that happen.”
Hill said he was keeping a close watch on legislative updates at the Gold Dome, including a proposal to increase state health care costs for school employees that would add an estimated $230,000 to the local budget, plus proposed safety improvements that could increase local costs.
The superintendent also said state legislators were considering several bills to prohibit transgender athletes in sports, to coincide with federal efforts under the Trump Administration, and a new state bill would restrict the use of cellphones for kindergarten through eighth grade.
Director of Accountability and Compliance Dr. David Murphy said the U.S. Department of Education had sent a “Dear Colleague” letter advising that race can no longer be factored into policy decisions, effectively ending “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” initiatives in public school education.
In other news, Murphy said that Union County Schools had not only successfully renewed accreditation through Cognia – the premier accreditation nonprofit with an international footprint – but that the system did so with flying colors, beating global averages in most categories.
Also revealed in the meeting, the under-construction Elementary School is under budget by roughly $125,000 and ahead of schedule for completion. A ribbon cutting will take place April 24, with moving to begin April 25 in plenty of time to start the 2025-26 school year as planned.
Be sure to check out the Sports Section of this week’s newspaper for more information on new Union County High School Head Football Coach Rob Stowe, who was hired in the Feb. 20 School Board meeting.
The public comment portion of last week’s meeting, which occurred at the end of the evening, is covered in a separate article in this edition of the newspaper.
