Pike board of education members announced school meal prices and approved policies including the Parents’ Bill of Rights as well as textbooks and curriculum resources for the upcoming school year during their July 19 meeting.
After two years of free school meals, the prices for breakfast and lunch at the schools were announced for the upcoming school year. Student breakfasts will be $2.50 and adult breakfast will be $3 while student lunches will be $3.75 and adult lunches will be $4.50.
Board members also approved policies and regulations, including the Parents’ Bill of Rights and a policy to prevent Material Harmful to Minors and Divisive Concepts from the curriculum.
“All of these policies are based on model policies by the Georgia Department of Education and written by our attorneys,” said superintendent Dr. Michael Duncan.
Policies approved include the Material Harmful to Minors Complaint Resolution Process which provides a framework for the school to address complaints submitted by parents and guardians alleging materials are harmful to their children or students in the school.
Complaints must be written and submitted and the school principal or another official will review the complaint and take reasonable steps to investigate the allegations in the complaint, including but not limited to reviewing the material that is alleged to be harmful.
The Parents’ Bill of Rights policy and the regulation policy gives guardians the ability to review records relating to their minor children; learn about their child’s courses of study; object to instructional materials; withdraw children from the schools’ sex education courses; and provide written notice if photographs or video or voice recordings of the minor are not permitted.
Superintendent Duncan informed the board of education that parents have always had these rights under various state and federal statutes, but this policy makes it easy and accessible for everyone understand.
The Unstructured Break Time policy states that children from kindergarten through fifth grades will have recess unless reasonable circumstances (such as inclement weather when no indoor space is available) prevent it and also that breaks may be withheld for individual students for disciplinary reasons but not academic reasons and withholding recess for the entire class is prohibited.
The Instructional Program Philosophy policy states the goal of the school system is to produce ‘life ready’ students who are prepared for the challenges of college, career and citizenship. The policy requires educators to design concept-based learning units to guide students in self-directed learning activities and curate authentic products and performances.
The school board also:
• Approved selling .21 acre lot between the bus barn lot and the old school building on Adams Street for $3,000.
• Approved the following textbooks / curriculum resources: United States Government (2018 – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing), World History (2023) – McGraw Hill for ninth to twelfth graders; and Eureka Math for Georgia sixth to eighth graders.
• Heard the school system is wrapping up the 2022-23 fiscal year with limited adjustments needed.
• Approved policies aimed to prevent Material Harmful to Minors and Divisive Concepts from the curriculum.
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