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At the start of Thursday night’s Troup County School Board meeting, Superintendent Brian Shumate announced that the school system had received two grants from the Callaway Foundation.

Shumate, who said he had just opened the letters from the foundation right before the meeting, said the grants will pay for new band uniforms at Callaway High School and for new instruments for the school system’s orchestra program.

The Callaway Foundation awarded $20,000 for the CHS band uniforms, which will pair with the $25,000 already raised by the band’s booster club.

According to previous reporting, the CHS band uniforms are over 20 years old.

The foundation also awarded $92,550 for new instruments for the school system’s orchestra program. TCSS has worked to expand its Strings Attached program in elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, Shumate said.

“This is not for staffing, it’s for instruments. String instruments are not cheap,” Shumate said. “The Callaway Foundation is certainly a good partner.”

In other action at the meeting:

• The school board voted to approve the fiscal year 2021 financial audit report as presented by Mauldin & Jenkins, who presented the report at Monday night’s work session. Mauldin & Jenkins issued a clean opinion. There were two findings during the audit — one was a mis-key on an invoice date (2022 was typed instead of 2021) — and the other was a Chromebooks purchase that as a total purchase was over $5,000 and needed to be recorded as a capital asset.
• The board voted to approve the purchase of intercom systems for nine schools throughout the district totaling $690,333.04.
• The schools getting new intercoms are Berta Weatersbee, Burwell Academy, Callaway Middle, Franklin Forest, Hillcrest, Hollis Hand, Long Cane Elementary, Long Cane Middle and Rosemont. The human resource recommendations included accepting the retirement of Clearview Elementary Principal Debra Brock and Hogansville Elementary Principal Gina Turner. Both are effective June 30. The report also said Callaway Middle School Principal Amy Thornton will be a K-12 liaison next year.
• The board approved renewing its membership with West Georgia RESA (Regional Educational Service Agency) at the cost of $42,486.50.   TCSS receives professional learning and other consulting services from RESA as well as the advantages of a purchasing cooperative.   Southern A&E was selected as the architect to complete design work for new softball/baseball locker room and restrooms at Troup High School and new car rider lanes at Long Cane Elementary School.