Printed March 13, 2008 ...

Ombudsman a go for Tattnall

by Allison Cobb
Editor

Although it failed to get unanimous approval by the Board of Education, the Ombudsman program is slated to begin in Tattnall County this Fall.

Ombudsman is an alternative-type education program tailored individually for students in grades six through twelve. It will replace the current alternative school being used in the county.

“We have discussed this in the past, researched it and discussed the financial issues,” said Superintendent Jim Turbeville. “There is a necessity we act on this now to save $8,000 (off the cost). We have already passed the deadline, but were given an extension.”

When discussions began in December, representatives of Ombudsman originally stated that the school board would be saving money by implementing the program. In the last month or so, the board was notified that the system wouldn’t save money with the program but would actually have to spend an additional $90,000 (on the year) to be a part of it.

The Tattnall County Ombudsman program will have one site (probably located in Reidsville) with 60 slots available for students — 40 for high school students and 20 for middle school. Ombudsman is typically housed in an office-type building and not on a traditional school campus. Ombudsman will secure the facility and hire staff for the program.

Three time slots are offered each day and students can choose the one most convenient for them. Classes last only three hours per day and are from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., or 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Board member Marilyn Lanier asked about the single location, saying that she understood there would be more than one in the county.

Chairman Donald Fountain said they had considered two sites but it would have been more costly.

Transportation will be the responsibility of the student/parent although Turbeville stated that school buses would probably be used to transport students from central locations.

On the financial side, board member Jeff Odom had voiced his concern at a previous meeting since the school system’s fund equity (money left over after the budget was met) was very low.

On Tuesday, Financial Director Glenn Purcell said the projected fund equity right now was around $300,000, although he hoped that figure would increase as property in the county was currently being re-assessed and the tax digest was expected to increase.

Additionally, Turbeville explained Tuesday that although the $90,000 price tag was discussed at the meeting on Monday, that figure would more likely be around $65,000 due to teacher reimbursement from the state (for the alternative teachers currently employed), which comes in a year behind schedule. He agreed though that the following year, if Ombudsman continued, the dollar amount to be paid out for the program would be higher.

Ombudsman is funded by the FTE money the school system gets for students enrolled in the alternative program. In Tattnall County, the system receives $4,226 per alternative-weighted FTE student. The program will cost $5,400 for each high school student and $5,700 for each middle school student. The difference in the cost and the FTE money will have to be paid out of the school system’s budget (approximately $1,500 per student, on average, or $90,000).

That figure is accurate if all of the slots are filled for the school year. For example, if only 50 slots are filled, then the system would have to pay for the remaining 10 slots at full price ($5,400 or $5,700). Turbeville doesn’t expect that will happen.

“We feel that there won’t be a problem keeping the slots full. We can also rotate kids in and out as needed,” said Turbeville.

He explained that some students may attend Ombudsman for only a couple weeks or a month, if needed. Once they returned to the regular classroom, another student could begin the program immediately.

Ombudsman helps students catch up on studies or aides in credit recovery so that the student can return to the traditional classroom as soon as possible.

For seniors who wouldn’t graduate, due to missing credits or failed portions of the required graduation test, Ombudsman can enroll the student full-time and offer a diploma, which they wouldn’t otherwise be eligible for in the regular school system.

“This will give us a good opportunity to experience the program and a good opportunity to reach some kids who might not otherwise be served as well as could be,” said Chairman Fountain.

Board members voting in favor of the program were Chris Grooms, John Wingate, Dale Kicklighter and Donald Fountain. Voting in opposition were Marilyn Lanier and Jeff Odom.

Currently there are approximately 17-18 counties who have Ombudsman programs in the state of Georgia. Ombudsman partners with school districts to provide an off-campus, alternative education program that offers personalized, computer-assisted learning for middle and high school students facing a variety of issues including truancy, credit or academic skill deficiencies, social and family challenges or learning/behavioral disabilities. Since 1975, Ombudsman has served more than 100,000 at-risk and special needs students. Among its national student body, Ombudsman has an 85 percent success rate of returning students to their home school district, retaining them in the program to earn credit, or graduating them with a school district or Ombudsman diploma.