To the citizens and electorate of Newton County:

I would like to invite all residents of Newton County and employees of all Newton County Schools to my third quarterly “School Board on Your Corner Forum” to be held at Alcovy High School auditorium at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6. The forum will follow the Alcovy High College Studies Panel organized by the Alcovy High Tools for College Success class to take place from 1 to 3 p.m. in the media center of the school.

My forum will provide legal updates from the December 2011 annual conference of the Georgia School Board Association in Atlanta.  Topics will include the recent decision of the Board of Community Health to increase health insurance rates over the next three fiscal years for non-certified system employees by a total per employee per month of 450, the Georgia College & Career Ready Performance Index, federal updates to anti-bullying legislation, implications of the Supreme Court decision in Gwinnett County School District v. Cox, the definition of “special schools,” and topics as generated by the audience.

At the request of the community, I will return to my 7 p.m. time for the next forum as I did at the July 28 event to accommodate schedules for parents working in distant counties.

Please check  City of Covington television and the Alcovy High School website for reminders of this event.

— Jeff Meadors, 

District One, Newton County Board of Education